


i wanna know...

by afrocurl



Category: X-Men: First Class (2011) - Fandom
Genre: Alternate Universe, Alternate Universe - Modern: No Powers, Canon Jewish Character, Established Relationship, Fluff, Hanukkah, M/M, Mother-Son Relationship
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-12-17
Updated: 2015-12-17
Packaged: 2018-05-07 07:37:41
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,857
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/5448548
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/afrocurl/pseuds/afrocurl
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Charles needs a favor from his boyfriend at school. Maybe it's not too bad that it also involves Erik's mother.</p>
            </blockquote>





	i wanna know...

**Author's Note:**

> This was meant to go up during Hanukkah, but life got in the way.

Charles walks into the office at lunch to find one small slip of paper from Moira in his box.

_Theresa Pryde wants to discuss Hanukkah with you._

Was it that time of the year already he wondered, but then he stopped himself from it. Yes, it was that time of the year. Erik had been rummaging in the cabinets for things and Edie had been calling more often than not to find a day when all three of them could have dinner.

Yes, it was time for Hanukkah. 

Joy. Joyeux fucking Jewish Noel.

Charles didn’t hate the holiday - far from it - but he had been around Erik and Edie for so long now that he knew that holiday really meant little to Jews millennia ago and it was only with Jews in America that the holiday started to gain traction in the last century and a half.

Charles just hated Hanukkah in a school setting because the minor holiday had to compete against Christmas. Hanukkah was bound to fail in comparison. If Charles could have had his wish, they’d only stick to winter’s arrival and ignore everything else that had a trapping of Santa or festivities.

But, for a small girl Kitty’s age, it was probably important. He had seen that same need in at least one or two kids in all of his previous classes, but somehow this year it had skipping his mind entirely. She was already a girl with a sharp mind and the room was filled with student-made trees and wreaths but nothing that didn’t look as it wasn’t something that was Christmas adjacent. It was only fair, Charles remembered, that with a Jewish student they should have made some menorahs or Stars of David or something that acknowledged the holiday.

It was just so hard to remember with so many children with disparate needs that Kitty was Jewish.

Charles sighed at the mental conversation he just had with himself - not unusual for him - and called back Theresa to find out what she was hoping Charles could do.

-

“So, I think I need you and Edie to come to class in the next week,” Charles said as he walked into the door of his and Erik’s apartment. It wasn’t as if Charles didn’t regularly open with non-sequiturs after days at work, but this one was even more usual than the norm. Erik looked up from the Statue of Liberty puzzle he’d been working on at the announcement to find his boyfriend staring at him with a look of consternation. 

“And why do Mamma and I need to come to class?”

“One of the girls in my class is Jewish and her mom wants the class to celebrate Hanukkah. She doesn’t want her daughter to feel left out.”

“So what scholcky classroom craft did you instigate this year that made it look like you weren’t interested in Judaism?”

“Trees and wreaths. I just sort of--” Charles trailed off. He smiles sheepishly at Erik.

“You weren’t paying attention. I get it. In fact, I know you.” Erik paused because he did know Charles and how he could be both the most organized and planned teacher but also a little absent-minded. “I can just see it now - Charles the energetic teacher making trees and wreaths and not noticing that one student seemed confused.”

“So you’ll come and save me from Mrs. Pryde’s wrath?” Charles asked with a look in his eyes that said he’d ply Erik with sex for doing this for him. Not that Erik needed to be plied with sex. They had sex all the time and it was good, but Erik did enjoy watching Charles look as if he was worried Erik wouldn’t put out for something that potentially could have offended Erik’s religion.

“Let’s call Mamma and see if she’s got a day free to come with me so we can go all out.”

“Edie’ll make latkes?”

“For you, yes, she will.”

Charles beamed and Erik had to smile despite his better judgment. Mamma had a soft spot for Charles and constantly dropped hints that Erik should make an honest man out of Charles. Erik rarely took the bait.

Erik felt like this was just as good a chance as any to maybe show Charles how much love there was in Erik’s heart. Erik had been thinking about what Mamma had said and was thinking he should take it to heart, but there was a small part of him that felt that he and Charles were fine without adding any haunty heteronormative trappings. 

But for now, Erik had to call Mamma and tell her they were making latkes for twenty five-year olds on Tuesday.

-

Anytime Erik called, Edie knew there was always a reason - he rarely called just to talk; it wasn’t in his nature - but she always accepted that her son was a little reluctant to talk and let him do as he wished.

But, this time she smiled as his voice crackled over the phone, “Charles has a Jewish student and he wants us to come and talk about Hanukkah with them. And maybe make some latkes?”

Edie smile widened. Trust Erik - or more accurately Charles - to have her come to class for something like that.

“I think we can manage that. But how are we going to cook them in front of the kids?”

“Hmm...I’ll just tell Charles and hopefully we can borrow some space with a stove.”

Edie rather doubted that the school would let the kids in the kitchen, so she’s just have to come up with something that would work.

“Well, I’ll let you go; it’s dinner time for me,” and then hung up before she’d let Erik try and say something else about not doing more work than she needed to. But she always did more than she needed to and that’s what almost everyone loved about her.

-

It was just after morning recess and Charles did his best to wrangle all his students’ energy into something constructive. Today, that constructive task was Erik and Edie. He was looking around the room for a sign of either one of them, but found nothing.

That was odd; normally Erik was prompt to a fault as was Edie. Like mamma, like son.

But Charles wouldn’t let the class know that his plans had gone sideways. He was a kindergarten teacher after all. A special breed, with nerves of steel. Never show fear he had learned. So he said, “Class today we have two special guests to talk about Hanukkah. Mr. Erik and Mrs. Edie will be here in a few minutes and I want you all to be on your best behavior.”

Charles watched for a few nods before he continued. “Now, how do we greet visitors to our class?”

“We say ‘hello’!” said Hank, the tallest but most awkward boy in the class.

“That’s right.”

“And we don’t yell at them if they ask us questions,” said little Jean.

“Good.” He smiled and hoped that at any moment Erik and Edie would walk through the door. But instead of hearing the bell ring when the door opened, there was a clank outside and a muffled something. “Oh dear, let me check on that. Stay seated everyone.”

Charles opened the door to see Erik muttering something while trying to wheel a gas grill in the hallway, Edie quietly behind him.

“A little help here,” Erik said, his voice tight with irritation.

“Of course. Why didn’t you ask one of the custodians to help you?”

“Mamma insisted I do it myself.”

“To show you he’s capable of--” Edie started, but stopped when Erik turned around and gave her a pointed stare. There must be going on between them that had Charles both curious and nervous.

Something was up. But he needed to get back into the room and hope that the kids hadn’t ruined the room in the moments he’d been out here.

“Here we go, can we turn this to get in the door?” Charles asked as he tried to do the math on the angles of the hallway and the grill with the door.

“If Mamma keeps the door open.”

Edie smiled and did as Erik asked. Erik walked in first and before Charles could remind the kids of the rules, he heard, “Hello Mr. Erik” from all his students.

Perhaps this demonstration - since that’s what this all looked like - wouldn’t go amiss.

-

Erik let Mamma explain Hanukkah to the kids as he needed to set up the grill before they could fry anything. He had been summoned to Mamma’s house at 5:30 AM to help get all the potatoes grated and mixed before they even went to the grocery store for chocolate that wasn’t wrapped in green or red.

It was already a long day and it wasn’t even noon. Charles really did owe him for this.

“So that’s the story of how the oil lasted, but for today we can’t use all that oil for our special treat.”

“Why not?” a girl asked with brown hair and a bright look on her face. Kitty, probably.

“Well, it’s not very safe for all of you because the oil splatters and it can hurt you. So we’ll just going to make a little compromise.” Mamma, even to children not her own, had a way of making everything sound like it was a good idea.

“I’m going to make the latkes for everyone,” Erik said,” as Mrs. Edie shows you all a game. You like games, right?”

“Yes!” came the class’ reply and before Erik could even turn to look for all the latke mix, the class had turned away from him.

Small mercy no one watched as he was put through his paces flipping over seventy-five latkes.

-

Edie had a fairly good idea that something was on Erik’s mind once they were wheeling out the grill. It took them longer than she thought Erik wanted, but it seemed that all of the kids wanted to hug both he and Edie for their time. Charles’ eyes just shone with happy tears at the display of affection.

“So, what’s going on with you?” she asked as soon as they were through the school’s front door and making their way into the rented van to return the grill.

“Nothing,” Erik tried to say, but Edie knew him too well.

“It’s not nothing. You’re hiding from me and Charles. That isn’t you at all.”

“Fine,” he huffed before he mumbled something.

“What was that?” she asked.

“I’m going to propose,” he said in a rush.

Edie let out an “oh” of surprise, but tried to keep her glee at bay. Sure, she tried to push Erik in that direction, but she wasn’t sure if he would actually do it.

“I’m so proud of you. And that’s all I’ll say.”

“Good, because I’m going to do it tonight at dinner. We’re going out to celebrate how well this went.” Edie just nodded and smiled.

She wouldn’t say anything else that was spinning through her head right now until she knew Charles’ answer. Even if she had a good guess.

**Author's Note:**

> Thanks to Sophia_Bee for the beta. Any mistakes are now mine.
> 
> Title from Bob Marley's "Is this Love".


End file.
